Torn Between Twin Brothers

Since it was already late when they arrived at home, Ann didn't want to wake up any of the household help to prepare a room for Pearl. So instead, Ann suggested that Pearl sleeps with either Ava or Arria; she chose the latter. 

After hearing that Pearl wanted to sleep in Aria's room, Ava quickly bid everyone goodnight. She was too tired and wanted to lay her aching body on her soft bed.

Jeff and Jeffrey were already out of sight; they had gone straight to their rooms as soon as they entered. Leaving only Ann and the girls. Once everyone went to their rooms, Ann finally let out a sigh of relief that all her beloved children were back home.

===

The next day, Ava and Jeffrey were overwhelmed when they arrived at the island resort. They had no idea that their parents had prepared such a grand congratulatory party for them. They were surprised that their whole family was there to congratulate them.

Grandfather Go and Grandmother Tan, although they were in their 70's, flew from America with Don-don and Bentong. Although he had already retired a long time ago, Old Ron came with Ronald, Lea, and their two children that were about a year younger than Ava and Jeffrey.

Although they had broken up a long time ago, Ethan and Eva were still on good terms and came separately. Last but not least, Albert Tan and The Diva Sophia. 

Ava and Jeffrey both received congratulatory gifts from their family. However, Arria was jealous because she didn't receive any and complained loudly to everyone.

"It's not fair; I also had high marks with my middle school grades. So why didn't I get any gifts then?" Said Arria with a pouty lip. 

Everyone only laughed at her complaints, then one by one, they started handing her some money. She was over the moon after counting how much pocket money she received and happily thanked everyone.

Once everyone finished congratulating Ava and Jeffrey, Ann introduced Pearl to the family. Pearl shyly greeted them back with a sweet smile. Since it was her first time meeting her grandmother Chrissy's extended family, she couldn't contain her happiness. 

Pearl excused herself to join Arria, Ava, and Jeffrey after meeting everyone while the adults enjoyed themselves.

The Jones's arrived just before the party began. To everyone's surprise, Tanaga was able to join Ashley, Akira, and Ashton. The only one missing was James, who stayed behind in the Kingdom of Stonasia. 

Tanaga and Ashley were ushered to the adult's table, while Akira and Ashton went to the children's table. Arria and Pearl were so happy to see their idol in person. Both of them quickly surrounded Ashton as soon as he reached the table.

Jeffrey had a big smile on his face when he saw Akira. He quickly pulled a chair for her to sit down next to him. Ava, on the other hand, only smiled and greeted the two.

Ashton chose to sit right next to Ava and caused problems for Arria and Pearl. Both of them had wanted to sit right next to him. When Ava realized the issue, she briskly got up and switched seats with one of the girls. Ashton's brows knitted when she had done that.

Soon the dinner was served, and there was nothing Ashton could do to get closer to Ava.

===

When the dinner was over, Ashton was quick to ask Ava if she wanted to go for a walk by the beach. Unfortunately, he asked loud enough for Pearl and Arria to hear, which made the two disappointed.

Ava was going to decline, but when Ashton bent to whisper something in her ear, her eyes widened. She first stared at him. Then, after a moment, she slowly got up and excused herself.

Pearl and Arria were curious as to what Ashton had said that made Ava change her mind. So they decided to follow them around as they walked around the beach.

Akira and Jeffrey saw what was going on, and they decided to follow too. They were also curious about what was going on. 

"I can't believe you! I couldn't tell at all. If you didn't tell me, I wouldn't know. This is crazy." Said Ava while they strolled.

"I can't believe it either that my parents didn't realize that it's me and not Ashton. I don't think Akira knows either from the look of it. So let's not tell anyone, alright?" James said while smiling.

Unknown to the two, four people were following them, and as soon as they heard that, all of them ran towards them. Akira put her arms on James's shoulder. 

"Big brother, you are sneaky. Caught you! Why did you have to come as Ashton? I can't believe that Daddy didn't notice. How did it happen?" Her eyes were wide and filled with curiosity.

James was brisk to remove her hand on his shoulder, "Akira, if you ever do that again, you know what will happen." His voice was cold as ice while his brows were almost colliding with each other.

One thing he hated the most was close contact, even with his family members. He didn't like it when people touched him, even if she was his sister.

Akira was quick to remove her arms on his shoulder and backed away. But, she knew better than James meant what he said, "I'm sorry! I just got excited knowing that you were able to fool our parents. Won't do it again." 

Arria, Pearl, and Jeffrey decided to stay quiet. After hearing what he said to Akira, they knew better than to mess with him.

===

Suddenly it turned eerie quiet. No one said a word while James was glaring at them. He wanted to tell them to leave so he could enjoy what little time he had with Ava, but no one was moving.

Luckily Jeffrey was smart enough, "Let's leave them alone so they could talk. Why don't we go over there." His puckered lips pointing towards the opposite direction. He then took Akira's hands then left with her without waiting for Arria and Pearl.

When Arria and Pearl didn't make a move yet, James began shooting daggers at them, telling them to leave already.

Ava sensed James was getting irritated but could not tell Pearl and Arria, so she decided to intervene.

"Arria, Pearl, do you guys mind? We have something to discuss privately." She then looked at James. "Right, big, brother?" She said while her head was coaxing him to say yes.

"Yes! Please, girls, I just need a moment with Ava before my parents find out and kick me out of here and send me back to Stonasia." James added. 

Only then Pearl and Arria realized that they were intruding. Both quickly turned around and left to go back where the adults were. Arria was planning on telling her parents what was going on.

===

"Dad, Mom, I'm serious. We were in shock when we heard him say that Uncle Tanaga and Aunt Ashley weren't able to tell." Arria was tattle-telling on James in front of all the adults. Pearl, who was by her side, just stayed quiet. She wanted to stop Arria, but she was adamant about telling the adults. The only thing she could do was to stand there and remain silent.

Tanaga and Ashely started laughing out loud. Then, everyone turned to look at the couple.

"We are their parents; how could we not know that he is James." Boost Tanaga for everyone to hear, "In fact, my brother-in-law had already told me that he asked not to let me know that he left to go back home. I don't know why he did that, but I have a feeling it's because of Ava." He said calmly.

Grandfather Go, with his lousy hearing, had to ask Tanaga to repeat what he said. "Can you repeat that? What do you mean it's because of our Ava?" Everyone was curious now.

Ann told Pearl and Arria to move along, so they wouldn't hear what Tanaga would say in response.

Arria wanted to hear it, but Pearl knew better, so she jerked Arria's arm and pulled her away. 

"It's an adult conversation; we shouldn't get involved. Let's go do a live stream. I'm sure our followers will be excited to hear from us." After hearing what Pearl said, Arria was happy enough to go along.

As soon as the two girls were out of the picture, Tanaga told everyone who didn't know about their agreement. Although he didn't tell them about what James promised, he was happy enough to know that his son was interested in Ava.

Once it was out in the open, everyone just laughed and took it as a good omen.

They continued with their conversation as if nothing happened.

===

Meanwhile, Pearl and Arria decided to FaceTime Ashton, who was currently in Korea preparing for their next tour.

Arria was quick to inform Ashton of what James had done, thinking Ashton would just ignore it. However, she didn't know that it would upset Aston in return.

While Ashton was doing his best not to show he was upset during their call, he was in a hurry to hang up to book a flight to the Philippines.

Meanwhile, while James and Ava enjoyed their moment alone, Ashton asked his uncle Kai to take him to the Philippines.